Must-see entertainment in Boston

  • Wally’s Café

    South End & Chinatown

    When Wally's opened in 1947, Barbadian immigrant Joseph Walcott became the first African American to own a nightclub in New England. Old-school, gritty…

  • Boston Ballet

    Boston

    Boston’s skillful ballet troupe performs modern and classic works at the Opera House. The program varies every year, but at Christmas they always put on a…

  • Company One

    South End & Chinatown

    This radical theater company strives to be at the 'intersection of art and social change' by offering provocative performances and fostering socially…

  • Opera House

    Boston

    This lavish theater has been restored to its 1928 glory, complete with mural-painted ceiling, gilded molding and plush velvet curtains. The glitzy venue…

  • Gillette Stadium

    Boston

    The six-time Super Bowl champs play football in the state-of-the-art Gillette Stadium, which is just 50 minutes south of Boston, but it’s hard to get a…

  • Barbara Lee Family Foundation Theater

    Boston

    Against a gorgeous, blue-water backdrop, the glass theater at the ICA is one of its coolest features and a venue for dance, music and other performance…

  • Boch Center

    South End & Chinatown

    Boston’s biggest music and dance venue, the Boch Center is comprised of two theaters that face off across Tremont St. The main stage is the enormous,…

  • Boston Center for the Arts

    South End & Chinatown

    There’s rarely a dull moment at the BCA, which serves as a nexus for excellent small theater productions. Over 20 companies present more than 45 separate…

  • Charles Playhouse

    South End & Chinatown

    Built in 1839, the Charles Playhouse was originally a speakeasy, later a jazz club and finally a theater. With its backstreet location and underground…

  • Simons IMAX Theatre

    Boston

    At the New England Aquarium, this IMAX cinema plays mostly educational 3D films on a six-story screen (the largest in New England). Many shows have an…

  • Modern Theatre

    Boston

    The Modern Theatre dates to 1876 and showed Boston's first 'talkie' in 1928. Nearly a century later, the building opened its doors again as a venue for…

  • Wilbur Theatre

    South End & Chinatown

    The colonial-style Wilbur Theatre dates from 1914, and over the years has hosted many prominent theatrical productions. These days it is Boston’s premier…

  • Improv Asylum

    Boston

    A basement theater is somehow the perfect setting for the dark humor spewing from the mouths of this offbeat crew. No topic is too touchy, no politics too…

  • Cutler Majestic Theatre

    South End & Chinatown

    This beautiful beaux-arts-style opera house dates to 1903. A century after its construction, the theater was sumptuously renovated and reopened by Emerson…

  • Laugh Boston

    Boston

    The funny guys over at Improv Asylum decided that Boston needed a few more laughs, so they opened this premier, stand-up comedy club in the Westin Hotel…

  • Paramount Center

    Boston

    This art deco masterpiece, restored by Emerson College, reopened in 2010. Originally a 1700-seat, single-screen cinema, it was owned by Paramount Pictures…

  • Shubert Theatre

    South End & Chinatown

    With 1600 seats, the Shubert is smaller and more intimate than some of the other Theater District venues, thus earning the moniker ‘Little Princess.' The…

  • Jacques Cabaret

    South End & Chinatown

    Head to this dive on a dark side street to experience the gay culture of the South End before gentrification took over. A shaded-lamp and pool-table kind…

  • TD Garden

    Boston

    TD Garden is home to the NHL Boston Bruins, who play hockey here from September to June, and the NBA Boston Celtics, who play basketball from October to…

  • Blue Hills Bank Pavilion

    Boston

    A white sail-like tent with sweeping harbor views, this is a great venue for summer concerts. It seats about 5000 people, so you can actually see the…

  • Dick's Beantown Comedy

    Boston

    In the basement of the nightclub Howl at the Moon, veteran local comedian Dick Doherty brings in national acts with Boston roots as well as up-and-coming…

  • Community Music Center

    South End & Chinatown

    Catering to the South End's economically and ethnically diverse community, this music school puts on occasional live shows featuring everything from…